Page 143 of War Queen
“You’re a seer? No, not just a seer, a traveler.”
A small smile came to his lips. “You continue to surprise me, Norah.”
A faint memory flickered. Had he told her that before?
Norah spotted something on his neck and stopped. He stopped too. She stepped closer, not that she trusted him, but she had to see… She eyed the ink that marked his skin, just above his armor. Her pulse quickened. She knew these markings. He’d had them when she’d first seen him in the mortium.
As she studied him, all the pieces fell into place. When he’d returned to her, he must have modified his image, like the traveler Nemus had been able to do in Mercia. He’d made himself as Alexander.
Lucien stood quietly, giving himself to her questioning eyes and roving mind.
“It was your blood,” she said. And it was his blood that allowed him into her mind.
Then another thought came to her. Her chest tightened as her heart pounded in her ears. “But in the Free Cities, in the inn, that wasn’t a vision,” she said. “You really were there.” Her pulse was racing now.
He didn’t deny it.
“You came to my bed,” she whispered. Her heart ached as she looked into the same eyes as Alexander’s. “I let you close,” she said. “An enemy of Mercia and Kharav, you could have killed me then. Why didn’t you?”
He held the same expressions as Alexander did, the same mannerisms. Her question bothered him. Or perhaps he didn’t favor his answer. Why didn’t he say something?
Anger flashed through her. “Is this all you wanted?” she snapped. “We came all this way to meet only so that I could see your face?”
“No,” he said finally. “I came to give you this, in person this time.” He pulled out a small vial and held it for her.Blood.
She stared at him. “What’s that?”
“You know what it is. Invite me back, and I’ll tell you everything.”
The audacity. “You’ve told me nothing!”
“I will,” he promised. “I need more time, time we don’t have here. Let me come to you.”
She shook her head. “Absolutely not.”
“Did you really think we’d settle things so quickly? With your army on the ridge and a few fleeting moments?”
Norah swallowed. She didn’t know what she’d thought. But reality hit her that it wouldn’t be that simple.
He held the vial for her. “Take it,” he said. “And then decide.”
Norah glanced back at Soren, who was still held by the witch’s magic. He continued to fight with everything he had, to no avail. There was no way he and Mikael would let her take the blood again.
Lucien closed his empty hand into a fist, and when he opened it again, a small necklace lay across his palm. He reached out and put the vial and necklace into her hand.
“What’s this for?” she asked of the necklace.
His eyes moved back to Soren. “A small gift. To use.”
What didthatmean?
The corners of his mouth curved up, and he turned back toward his own horse, leaving her standing alone.
Norah could only watch him as he walked back and mounted his destrier before departing with his witch. When they reached the base of the ridge and started up, Soren’s body jolted as the hold released him. Freed, he thundered to the ground and started toward her as she made her own way back.
“What did he say?” he snarled with a raging brow. “What did he give you?”
She hesitated.
